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Ethyl benzene leaked as ship loaded

A small leak of ethyl benzene is believed to have been contained in the St. Clair River, Staff Sgt. Jeff Hodgson with the Sarnia Police Services said.

A ship at the Lanxess Inc. dock in Sarnia leaked the chemical into the river. The leak was reported at about 9 a.m. Saturday. Hodgson said he believed the leak has been contained with boom.

Water treatment plants along the St. Clair River south of Sarnia’s Chemical Valley closed their water intakes for about four and a half hours after the ethylbenzene spill at Styrosolution Canada Ltd.

St. Clair closed its intake at 9:25 a.m. and reopened at 2 p.m. Port Huron, which is north and upstream of the spill, did not close its intake.

According to a news release from Styrosolution Canada, the leak came from a ship being loaded with ethylbenzene in Sarnia.

The company was notified by the Sarnia-Lambton Environmental Assocation at about 6:30 a.m. Saturday that the chemical had been detected at a test station on the St. Clair River. According to the news release, the company stopped loading activities and began spill containment activities.

Ethylbenzene is used in the manufacture of sytrene, which is used in products such as rubber, plastic, insulation, pipes, food containers, and carpet backing.

The Sarnia Fire Department, the Ministry of the Environment and other agencies responded to the spill.

Hodgson said he expected the Ministry of the Environment would investigate the cause of the spill.